The desire within him was nearly consuming him.

Just as Ding Mengxiang's hand was about to venture further,

Ye Xiao'e stopped him.

"County Magistrate Ding, I came here today to ask for a promise. Such promises have been made to me by leaders before. How can you expect me to trust you?"

Ye Xiao'e's words put Ding Mengxiang in a difficult position.

Indeed, empty promises were a bit too intangible.

He asked, "Xiao'e, what do you want? I'll buy it for you."

After thinking for a moment, Ye Xiao'e said, "I'm not lacking money, but love. If County Magistrate Ding really cherishes me, then please invite me to dinner tomorrow night as a sort of ritual. After dinner, I promise to give myself to you without reservation. For today though, I'm not in the mood."

With that said,

if Ding Mengxiang still seemed too eager, it would seem a bit inappropriate.

There's an old saying, haste doesn't bring success.

A good dish needs to be cooked slowly.

He clenched his teeth and said, "Alright, Xiao'e, I'll come to see you again tomorrow."

"Mhmm, I'll wait for you."

Although he was reluctant to leave a hundred thousand times over,

in order to appear like a gentleman,

Ding Mengxiang still stood up and took his leave reluctantly.

Standing at the door, Ye Xiao'e watched him until he entered the elevator. Only then did she turn around, walk back to the couch, and sit down again. She lit up a cigarette and leisurely smoked away.

"Has he left?"

A man's voice suddenly appeared at the door.

Ye Xiao'e looked up and saw Chen Fang.

"He's gone."

Ye Xiao'e replied with a voice and extinguished her cigarette butt, saying, "Men are all the same."

"Does that include me?"

Chen Fang asked.

Ye Xiao'e smiled and asked, "And how are you any different from them? Don't you get excited by a beautiful woman? Or are you saying you're not fascinated by power?"

Chen Fang pondered for a moment.

He nodded and said, "Seems to be the case."

Seeing Chen Fang admit it, Ye Xiao'e chuckled and crossed her legs in front of him to the other side.

In the gap of switching legs,

the abyss-like space between her thighs, not covered by the bathrobe, attracted Chen Fang's gaze.

Ye Xiao'e leaned forward,

propping her chin with her hand, staring at Chen Fang in front of her, and asked, "Does Deputy County Magistrate Chen plan to stay the night?"

"Oh, no no no, Miss Ye, you should rest early. I'll take my leave."

After speaking, he turned and left.

As he left, he didn't forget to close the door behind him.

Ye Xiao'e smiled wickedly,

and stood up,

walking to the bathroom door.

Her slender, long fingers gently tugged at the belt of her bathrobe in the middle.

The bathrobe then flopped down to the floor.

In the mirror, she saw her own delicate neckline and soft chest, along with rosy cheeks and lovely face. She sneered and muttered, "Hah, men..."

It was ten o'clock on Monday morning.

In the small garden square diagonally opposite the County Government building,

two red donation boxes were placed in the center, each marked with the characters "Chen" and "He" respectively.

They represented Chen Fang and He Wenbin.

Next to the donation boxes, there were two tables, each with secretaries seated on one side as supervisors.

Behind, a row of chairs was set up, and many leaders from the county government had already arrived one after another.

Since it was a donation organized internally by the county government, no one from the county party committee came over.

Most people also did not wish to be part of such a "farce."

Around 10:05 a.m.,

Chen Fang appeared at the donation site.

Upon his arrival,

Qin Yi, who had been waiting there, quickly stood up, approached him and said in a low voice, "Leader, I have two pieces of news. President Zhang from Tiancheng Group called to say that their accounts had been frozen, so it's useless for them to come today, and he said he won't be coming."

Chen Fang was startled and asked, "Oh? What happened?"

"It's a local decoration company in Jinde County. They reported that they were defrauded by Tiancheng Group. Early this morning, our local Economic Crime Investigation Squad rushed to the bank to freeze their payment accounts."

Chen Fang fell silent for a while, then sneered disdainfully and said, "That's quite a clever tactic, they really have a knack for this."

"Also, at Tonight's Gathering, the tax bureau showed up for an inspection before they even opened for the day, meaning Tonight's Gathering won't be able to make it to the event either."

Qin Yi said anxiously.

Chen Fang was taken aback again.

Turning his head, he saw Ding Mengxiang and He Wenbin walking toward him.

Chen Fang said to Qin Yi, "Alright, I got it. Go do what you need to."

Qin Yi left.

The two men also arrived.

He Wenbin said with a smug look on his face, "Deputy County Head Chen, did you not sleep well last night? You seem a bit out of sorts. Oh, could it be that you've run into some difficulties with fundraising?"

"There are naturally difficulties, but they're nothing to be afraid of, no big deal, they won't cause much of a stir,"

Chen Fang said nonchalantly.

"Hahaha... Brother Chen is indeed open-minded, I admire that,"

He Wenbin laughed heartily.

At that moment, Ding Mengxiang said, "Comrade Chen Fang, I've heard that you have a good relationship with the young Miss of Sen Can Group?"

"We can hardly say it's 'good', we just know each other."

Chen Fang replied.

Ding Mengxiang smirked triumphantly and said, "Comrade Chen Fang is being modest. With a relationship like that with Sen Can Group, a hundred Deputy County Head He's wouldn't be a match. How come I haven't seen the young Miss Zhong yet?"

While saying this, he deliberately looked around.

Chen Fang knew what he was up to.

It was just a probe.

He smiled and said, "County Head Ding, rest assured, I haven't contacted Sen Can Group for this donation."

Hearing this, both men were overjoyed.

They were just about to say something.

When suddenly Yan Jixian came running over and said to the two men, "The guests have arrived."

He Wenbin, with a look of arrogance, said, "Deputy County Head Chen, I won't keep you company anymore, ha. I'm going to greet my guests."

"Deputy County Head He, please go ahead."

After Chen Fang finished speaking, He Wenbin hurried off toward the entrance. At the front gate, a line of luxury sedans pulled up, and a number of well-dressed businessmen began walking toward them.

Looking over.

There were at least thirty or forty people.

Such a large-scale donation was a standout event even for the whole of Jinde County.

In the distance, He Wenbin led his guests in conversation as they walked over. Ding Yuan was extremely anxious by now and sidled up to Chen Fang to ask in a low voice, "Where are your people? Why hasn't a single one arrived?"

"I had arranged for two, but they were scooped up by someone else."

Chen Fang said bitterly.

Upon hearing this, Ding Yuan's eyes widened, and he said resentfully, "I told you so, I knew it wouldn't be that simple. I told you not to compete, but you wouldn't listen."

Chen Fang chuckled and said, "What if there's a turnaround?'

A turnaround? What kind of turnaround could there be?

Ding Yuan heaved a long sigh; at this point, all he could do was leave things to fate.

Half-past ten.

The donation activity was ready to begin.

The difference between the two sides was immediately apparent.

Chen Fang's donation box was empty, whereas He Wenbin's was crowded with people.

They were some of the more prominent figures of Jinde County.

For them, taking this opportunity to donate and connect with the county government was a happy proposition.

"Deputy County Head Chen, haven't your people arrived yet? Look, it's already half-past ten, we can't keep waiting like this,"

Ding Mengxiang said in a mocking tone.

He Wenbin immediately chimed in, "Exactly, Deputy County Head Chen, with no one at your end, could it be that you're waiting for the God of Wealth to shower you with money?"

"Hahaha..."

This comment set off laughter among some of the crowd.

It seemed to most people there that Chen Fang had already lost today's "competition."

If there had been champagne at hand, He Wenbin would probably have been eager to pop it open in celebration.

Chen Fang, however, wore an air of indifference.

He waved his hand and said, "Let's just start the donation ceremony directly, shall we? We can't delay everyone's eagerness to show their compassion..."

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